Wake up and smell the coffee – ‘Mr Bean’ insures nose for £2m

Dave Roberts has had his nose insured by Nescafé to protect his sense of smell which has been responsible for helping sniff out coffees for a quarter of a century.

Whereas the tongue has only five areas of taste, the nose can distinguish millions of scents and Mr Roberts, known amongst his colleagues as Mr Bean, said aromas have always been a powerful role in his life.

Mr Roberts’ journey to chief master taster had humble beginnings in Reading where he studied food technology at university in the 1980s.

After graduating, he joined Nestlé as assistant production manager in the vinegar business, where he could be tasting vinegar as early as 6.30am.

Although based at Nestle HQ in Croydon, his unusual job as chief master taster has taken him around the world in search of the best coffee beans, to places such as South America and Africa.